Radio communication systems are critical to public safety environments such as law enforcement, fire rescue, and mission-critical environments. Conventional repeaters provide a low-cost infrastructure used in radio communication systems as part of a communication path between radios. Conventional radios operate on fixed channels where each user group is permanently assigned a fixed frequency or a set of frequencies. The conventional communication system, unlike a trunked system, does not rely on a control channel or core switching. The conventional radio provides user-selectable radio channel selection for instant channel access. While the cost and simplicity of a conventional system is highly desirable, the conventional repeater poses challenges to the integration of additional communication resources.
Management of the repeater channel can be challenging due to the limited communication paths in which a conventional transmission occurs. Today's public safety personnel need to be able to manage both mission critical communications as well as other types of communications in the most seamless manner possible. It is highly desirable to address the management challenges associated with the conventional repeater and to do so at minimal cost without adding additional hardware.
Accordingly, there is a need for a conventional radio system that can provide additional communication resources.
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The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.